ASSAULT & BATTERY CHARGE AGAINST VIETNAMESE NAIL TECHNICIAN DISMISSED AT CLERK’S HEARING, AS ATTORNEY GERALD J. NOONAN PRESENTS EVIDENCE THAT HIS CLIENT ACTED IN SELF-DEFENSE

The Client is a 32 year-old Vietnamese woman with no criminal record. She works six days a week as a nail technician to support her family, which includes two children, one of whom is severely autistic. On the date of the incident, the client, her husband, and two children were sitting in their SUV in the parking lot of a Starbucks. Her husband, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, was programming an address into the GPS. Meanwhile, a female in a vehicle was waiting to use the client’s parking space. The female operator began to beep her horn and was motioning for the client to back out of the parking space. The client’s severely autistic son became upset, as the other woman was beeping of the horn. The client rolled down the window and told the female to wait but the other female yelled that to the client that she was taking up two parking spaces. The client exited her vehicle and approached the other female and a heated argument ensued. The client claims that the other female made a racial slur, saying: “Go back to where you came from!” The verbal argument turned physical. The female told police that the client punched her, grabbed her, and pulled her. The officer observed that the female was bleeding and had swelling and redness under her left eye. However, the female did admit to the police officer that there was mutual fighting between her and the client. The officer then spoke to the client who stated that the female kicked her in the leg. The officer observed bruises to the client’s leg. The officer charged our client with Assault and Battery for having punched the other female in the face.

Result: At the Clerk Magistrate Hearing, Attorney Gerald J. Noonan argued that his client acted in self-defense when she struck the other female. The police was vague as to who struck who first. The police report did not contain any concrete evidence showing that the client struck first. The police report did give the impression that the fighting was mutual. Attorney Noonan pointed out that the officer also charged the other female with Assault & Battery with a Dangerous Weapon for having kicked the client with her shoe. After the hearing, the Clerk Magistrate declined to issue the complaint against our client.